Friday, February 27, 2009

Does this dress lie in our future? I’ve asked Tommy a few times over the past couple of weeks whether he’d like a little sister or a little brother. One-hundred percent of the time he says “sister”. He knows there is a baby in mommy’s tummy (not anatomically correct, but whatever...I’m not ready to introduce the word ‘uterus’ quite yet) so when I ask him if he thinks the baby is a girl or boy, he says girl 100% of the time. Is there something to this? I actually think there is.

On the message board I belong to for Tommy’s birth month/year, I mentioned my conversations with him regarding the sex of our baby. I got back lots of comments about how other moms’ children also correctly predicted the sex of their baby. One woman’s 2 year old actually told her that she was pregnant weeks before she even tested positive! Do these little people know something we don’t? We’ll find out in 3 weeks if Tommy is correct!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

This survey has been floating around Facebook for awhile, so I thought it would be fun to complete it and share it here.

What are your middle names?Mine is Courtney, his is Kenneth

How long have you been together?4.5 years, 5 if you count dating

How long did you know each other before you started dating?Hard to say...we didn't know each other and we never really started "dating". We met online and talked incessantly until we decided this was "it" and we would probably end up marrying each other. We talked online for 3 months by the time I realized he would be my future husband.

Who asked whom out?Doesn't really apply

How old are each of you?I'm 25, he's 31

Whose siblings do you see the most?Mark's brother, his only sibling. He lives down the street with his wife and 2 girls and we see them almost every day. I have no siblings.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?Kids, hands down. Life was easy before kids. Now we have to figure out how to "stay ourselves" and retain some semblance of the lovey-doveyness we had before kids when we have these little people running around us all day.

Did you go to the same school?No...he went to UC Davis (in CA), I went to Southern Connecticut State University.

Are you from the same home town?No. Mark grew up in Morgan Hill, CA and I grew up in a few different towns in Connecticut.

Who is smarter?Mark thinks I'm smarter, but I think he's smarter. He's a genius at math and maps. I have superhuman hearing and ninja-like skills. So maybe it's a draw.

Who is the most sensitive?Probably me. I've gotten exponentially better since we were first married, though.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?We just found an yummy and affordable Italian restaurant 15 mins away, so we've been eating there a lot lately.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?We drove across the country from Connecticut to California. We've never been out of the country together (or apart, for that matter)

Who has the craziest exes?Neither

Who has the worst temper?Me. Having 2 children has brought it out of me and with God's help I've learned to control it. You'd never know it if you just met me though. I'm normally very soft-spoken and quiet, but when you give me 2 screaming children, both hanging on me and both wanting something but unable to express what that is, I can definitely get annoyed. I grew up with a yelling mom and don’t want that for my kids, so I’ve been motivated to nip that in the bud.

Who does the cooking?Me.

Who is the neat-freak?Probably me, but we're both organized people

Who is more stubborn?Neither of us is stubborn

Who hogs the bed?Mark, but it's understandable when you're 13 inches taller and 100 lbs heavier than your wife.

Who wakes up earlier?Me. I wake up at 5:30am every morning except on weekends. He wakes up around 6:30

Where was your first date?Empire State Building

Who is more jealous?Neither

How long did it take to get serious?Three months

Who eats more?Depends if I'm pregnant at the time...if I am, then me. Otherwise I'd say Mark.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hi, Mark here. I thought I would put up a post about one of my hobbies, fish keeping. I first got an aquarium over a year ago, just before Ben was born. I have learned a lot since then. I have loved aquariums my whole life. I have always been awed by the tranquil fantasy world you could create full of light, color and life. When I see a beautiful aquarium, I really want to live inside it.

Until recently I thought that the hobby would be boring and a lot of work. Well, it does take patience, but if you keep everything in order, the work is minimal.

Aquariums are worlds in a box. You create whole ecosystems and nurture them to life. Far from boring, there is so much activity and beauty to see. On a daily basis I find myself stopping to watch, often pulling up a chair. A very enjoyable hobby. Thanks for reading.

Spring 2008 - My first tank, 30 gallons

Fall 2008 - The 30 gallon is thriving

January 2009 - My new 60 gallon

Feb 2009 - With CO2 injections, the plants are exploding with growth. The green stalks in the back grow about 2 inches a day

Monday, February 16, 2009

Tommy’s language has exploded lately. He picks up so much of what we say, which makes us so thankful that our speech is clean, save for the occasional fart or burp joke. Here are some samples of Tommy’s cute sayings:“Bizzit?” = What is it?“Biter-biter” = Firefighter“Choshat-mote” = Chocolate milk“Her okay, Mommy?” - whenever I bump myself and exclaim “ouch!”

Friday, February 13, 2009

It snowed last night! Not at our house of course, but up in the mountains of Henry Coe Park. We went up there this morning to see the snow and to show it off to the kids. It was their first time ever experiencing the cold wet stuff.

It was a bit bizarre for me, having grown up in Connecticut and seeing snow every winter for 21 years, to see the cold wet stuff here in sunny California. I admit I’ve been California-ized in the 4 years I’ve lived here, and so I wasn’t very prepared. For some reason I thought it would be sunny and warm at the top of them mountain and I would miraculously be surrounded by snow in spite of sunshine. Not true.

It was snowing pretty heavy up there and reminded me so much of back East. Luckily Tommy was wearing his boots and we had some extra jackets in the car, so the kids were fine.

I tried to encourage Tommy to eat snow, but he wanted no part of it. He seemed to enjoy walking in it and looking at it, but was reluctant to touch it. Hopefully we’ll see the snow again before winter ends.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Last Sunday, February 1st, you turned one! It’s been a fun year - I can’t believe how quickly time passes with children! In just one year you’ve gone from a helpless tiny infant to a walking, babbling toddler. You’re a very happy, easy-going little guy. You love to laugh at your older brother’s ‘jokes’ (read: screaming). You are quick towards independence, preferring table food and sippy cups early on instead of pureed baby food and bottles. I can’t wait to see how you grow in your 2nd year!